


Then and Now

by Zoco



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-06
Updated: 2014-02-06
Packaged: 2018-01-11 08:17:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1170791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoco/pseuds/Zoco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They once wished upon a star, that they would stay together forever... as a family. But that was back then. Now things have changed... and things are completely different now than before. (A two-part short story)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Then

In the wild, you had to expect anything. With vines long enough to coil around ones neck and hang one at a wrong turn, a stump so far out of place, just enough to trip you down a cliff, and hazardous remains of wood that produced the most distinct sound when stepped on, a predator could be unsuccessful in stalking his prey. Lurking the jungle during the day was a blessing, the beautiful and blossoming aroma of the wildlife around them standing free in the rich air, away from any society and population. However there were few that actually knew about this jungle, and some that utilized what the jungle had to its fullest. The predator, a beast like no other, one that will jump at the chance to get the most wild catch on its prey. A creature to handle the strength of others at its presence, and to massacre the ones that stand in its way. The prey. Quick, agile, elusive, all of these words to describe the so called victims. While little match for the prey face to face, their cunning skills and wit lead them to outscale the oppressors in a match of mind, one that fully utilized nature and its science to its fullest.

 

The matchup was ordinarily determined through nature and through common logic. The strong would feast on the weak and the large would stomp on the small. In this situation though it was the latter.Two lone yordles out seeking their goal, one hiding from the other and one seeking the other. In a battle of intelligence the two yordles, Rumble and Teemo, were playing an intense match of hide and seek.

 

Rumble was out of his natural habitat, but with one of his best friends it didn’t really matter. He had full control of what strings to pull, how to catch the hidden out of position. They were both masterminds of their age, each of them fully knowing the extent of which the other person can do. Rumble crept steadily in front of his, carefully observing his surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. The jungle was dense, full of the bright green giant jungle leaves that sprouted out from the ground and oddly shaped and sometimes spiraled jungle tree branches that were scattered around creating wicked and odd paths for them to follow. The rules of the game were simple. Teemo was to hide and Rumble was to seek him out. The challenge was that he could be anywhere. Rumble’s eyes slimmed, looking into every nook and cranny that he could find. Knowing Teemo’s camouflage abilities, he knew the task at hand wasn’t going to be easy.

 

Rumble did not keep track of time, nor did he have a watch on him. The only thing he had on him was a camera, perfectly hooked around his belt buckled around his waist. His blue t-shirt and black pants made him distinct in the jungle, noticeable from a mile away if not mistaken for a patch of water. All he knew about Teemo was that he wore his normal attire when he met up with him out here this morning. No shirt, letting his fur flow loosely,his signature green hat and red goggles, and brown pants. But now there’s no telling if Teemo would camouflage himself with the scenery around him.

 

The jungle before him completely captured Teemo’s essence as a yordle. Free spirited and wild, letting his spirit run in the wind gracefully galloping like the soul of a horse who had just been set free from his reigns. Rumble had high hopes for his future, one that he would only hope that they would be together in as partners, brothers.

 

It was pretty unconventional for letting himself stick to a task this long, but this task bargained his pride at stake. As the sun rose higher in the cool morning sky, the more and more his determination grew, skyrocketing through the atmosphere and into space. His pace became faster and footsteps louder, proud but impatient at Teemo’s elegance in the art of stealth. He tried his best at patiently searching but the more time went on, the more Rumble lacked on his own confidence. “No.” he thought abruptly to himself. “I cannot let it get to me!” The words stung in his head as he crept over a fallen log. The beating in his chest went from a calm pace to a thrusting beat, his heart attacking his mind in a battle of feeling of knowledge. Rumble ignored this duel, trying his best on focusing on the task at hand, finding Teemo.

 

_*-CRACK-*_

 

A loud crack came from behind him and on instinct Rumble swiftly turned around, met with the proud gaze of a silhouette darting behind another tree. Rumble gave off a devious smile and a new vibe. He had detected his prey. Licking his lips once in an animal fashion, he gave chase to the creature.  

 

The jungle whizzed past him, ignoring everything else except his goal. Hopping over branch over branch and sometimes swinging on a vine Rumble could see why Teemo loved the jungle so much. His eyes were hungry, feasting on the area in front of him, his so called primal instincts kicking in. He became excited, the same silhouette he could see in the distance, the shadow drawing out a small creature hopping away with all his might, a yordle.

 

Of course, all of these primal instincts are just a metaphor.

 

Eventually Rumble hit a small outcropping, the canopy above him breaking just a bit for the sun to illuminate a circle just big enough to fit it. He stopped directly in the middle, letting the sun provide enough light to him to observe the area around him. He rotated three-hundred and sixty degrees, looking between the leaves and trees to try and get a good fix on the one who was hiding. But whomever it was that Rumble had saw seemed to have completely vanished within two seconds…

 

“Clever.” Rumble said aloud, some birds flocking away at his voice. He pivoted his foot and turned directly around and staring at the area in front of him. There was nothing there…

 

“But not clever enough! RAHH!” He yelled lunging at the area in front of him. As he did, a new flurry of colors tried to dodge his attack. He tried, but Rumble’s fur met with someone elses fur, tackling the creature to the ground.

 

“Ahhh!” The familiar voice yelped in surprise as they slammed into the ground, Rumble’s arms straddled over the yordle. Whipping his fur out of his eyes, Rumble looked down on his prey and his best friend. It was Teemo. He smiled and so did Teemo in pure joy of the moment, eventually both laughing hysterically on the ground at their silliness which, they both knew, was pretty extreme at times.

 

“Haha! You got me!” Teemo exclaimed, rolling on the floor a tad bit. Rumble smiled at his friend.

 

“Yeah I did!” Rumble said, giggling a bit. He got off of Teemo, plummeting his shoulder to the ground before lifting himself up. Once he was standing, he turned to Teemo and held out his hand which he gladly accepted, pulling Teemo to his two feet. He brushed off the majority of the dirt that stuck to his fur, turning to Rumble with a wide smile on his face. Like always, he was extremely cheery and happy, even when in the most odd situations.

 

“That was fun!” Teemo said, holding out his hand to Rumble which Rumble shook, a sign of friendship and sportsmanship.

 

“I got you that time, and admittedly it was quite the challenge.” Rumble complimented.  

 

“Isn’t it quite the challenge all the time? You know I’m a better hider than you.” Teemo challenged. Rumble put his hands on his hips.

 

“Hey! That’s only because you’re a natural in the art of stealth!” Rumble rebutted but laughed to himself. “But yes, it’s very hard all the time!” Rumble said.

 

“I’m glad I can be a challenge.” Teemo said, and he started walking forward, Rumble following close behind him hopping a few branches to get side by side with him.

 

“I like a challenge, it makes things interesting.” Rumble stated. “Without it, all of our games would be boring.”

 

“I agree.” Teemo said, hopping down a small cliffside and so did Rumble. “Or is it that you know I can beat you anything that isn’t challenging.” Teemo said wittingly.

 

“I beat you in things! Do I have to bring up archery?” Rumble challenged. From behind Rumble saw Teemo quickly shake his head back and forth, letting a small giggle come from his mouth. “I’m a challenge, right?” Rumble asked. Teemo stopped and turned around. Rumble stopping as well caused Teemo to walk up around him, stand by his side, and wrap his arm around Rumble’s shoulder. Rumble did the same to Teemo.

 

“Rumble, no matter where or what we do, you will always be a challenge.” Teemo said. “And not only that, every game is much more fun when you’re in them.”

 

“How so?” Rumble asked.

 

“I’m not sure, but you do, you definitely do.” Teemo said, giving Rumble his signature wide smile, one that whenever they receive one they would never forget. Teemo looked up, noticing the sun. “What time is it?” Teemo asked. Rumble looked down at his wrist but remembered he didn’t have his watch on.

 

“I’m not sure.” He said looking up. “But judging by the sun, I’d say noon. Time for lunch!” Rumble said excitedly. Teemo smiled at this realization. “Where are we going to eat? Stanley’s Bakery, Morga’s Cafe, Nila’s Diner… OH! Gragas’s Bar!”

 

“They won’t let us in Gragas’s Bar silly! We’re too young for that!” Teemo said, making Rumble laugh.

 

“I know, I know, but it was worth a shot, hehe.” Rumble said. He looked in front of him. “You know what’s a challenge? Getting out of this darn jungle!”

 

“Hardly! I know this jungle like the back of my hand!” Teemo stated proudly.

 

“Fine! You know what else is challenging? Pronouncing the name of this place.” Rumble said. Teemo nodded at this.

 

“Kungumunu…”

 

“Kumgunu…”

 

“Kugumunu…”

 

“Kumungu… Kumungu! Got it!” Rumble said, dancing a little while walking.

 

“Hehe.” Teemo chuckled. “Oh yeah! We need to meet Tristana and Ziggs outside the jungle!” Teemo said, remembering what him and Rumble told them before they came out. At noon, meet them right outside of the jungle so they can go and do stuff together. A fun adventure time, he’d like to call it.

 

“Right!” Rumble recalled as well, jogging along in front of Teemo. Teemo kept the pace, trailing along with Rumble. It was a satisfying hike for both of them and overall quite relaxing. The sun reached its peak in the air while they were running. The leaves brushed up against their fur as they exited the jungle, sweat dripping from their fur, revealing the thin mountain gap that they used to get to the jungle. The mountains on the side were completely bare, rock all the way up to the tippity top, at the top you could see the faint sight of snow. Following the path they wound themselves up in a forest, neatly tucked away on the other side of the mountain. Large oak wood trees towered above them, but not as high as the mountain trees before, and rich and fresh grass beneath their feet, marking that it has rained here recently, leaving the smell of fresh and brisk air to fill their noses.

 

“Do you know where they would be?” Teemo asked while walking.

 

“Not sure. Knowing them they could be anywhere.” Rumble answered.

 

“Do we really have to search this whole place for them?” Teemo complained.

 

I don’t think so… look!” Rumble said, pointing his finger off in the distance. Through a break in the trees both of them saw the faint outlines of two figures standing next to each other, facing towards each other. Curious, Rumble and Teemo approached. As they got closer, they could definitely tell that it was who they were looking for. The combination of light brown fur and dark brown fur on his body was distinct from every tree trunk, not only that but he wore his classic green goggles which you can clearly see his blue eyes through. He was staring intently at the yordle across from him, who was also staring back in the same manner. Her light blue skin glistened in the sun, marking that she was standing there for a while, and her short, white hair flowed in the wind, sometimes getting in front of her eyes which they could tell was annoying her quite a bit. It was Ziggs and Tristana.

 

Teemo and Rumble walked up to them, both of them expecting them to notice them, but as they approached they made no regard to their presence. They just stood there, staring intensely at each other. They looked upon them, confusion arising in their eyes. They were stone still, not moving at all.

 

“Uh… hello?” Rumble asked. No response. He turned to Teemo. “What is this?”

 

“I think that they’re dead.” Teemo said, moving to the side to get a better look at Tristana’s face. A gloss of sweat trickled down her forehead. “Maybe they’re playing charades. Oh! I bet Tristana is a statue!”

 

“No… I don’t think that’s it.” Rumble implied, putting his hand on his chin and rotating around towards Ziggs. He thought of all of the possibilities that could cause this to happen. However there was only one conclusion he could come to and… it seemed very likely. Without thinking of the consequences, he waved his hand in front of Ziggs’s eyes. His left eye twitched at the action which made Rumble immediately know what is going on.

 

“Ohh ok. Hehe.” Rumble said. Teemo looked at him.

 

“What are they doing?” Teemo asked innocently.

 

“Nothing they’re… hehe. They’re having a staring contest.” Rumble explained. Teemo turned his head back to the two. It took a moment for him to study them, then “Ahh”ing at the realization. “All we have to do now is wait.”

 

“How long does this game normally take?” Teemo asked. Rumble looked at him, a bit of a shocked expression on his face.

 

“Have you never done a staring contest before?” Rumble asked. He looked down upon Teemo, looking as innocent as ever and couldn’t help smiling at him. Teemo, only about a year younger than Rumble has already seen more of the outside world than him and has already perfected techniques and abilities that Rumble could not believe. He was an extraordinary child, one that Rumble was definitely close with and was proud to be.

 

“No. How do you play? I want to play!” Teemo exclaimed. Rumble placed a hand on his shoulder, calming him down.

 

“Teemo, I will teach you later. Trust me it’s a fun game.” He said. Teemo smiled. Rumble turned back to look at Tristana and Ziggs. “This game could go on for so long, it all depends on how long they can keep their eyes open. Who do you think is going to win?” Asked Rumble. Teemo studied the two faces once again.

 

“I don’t know, it’s hard to say.” Teemo said.

 

“They do seem to be pretty in it.” Rumble said, rocking side to side as if a photographer getting pictures at different angles. “But if I were to say -” He said, but was immediately cut off by a simple action, a wide and comical smiling wiping across Tristana’s face.

 

Ziggs blinked.

 

“YES!” Tristana exclaimed, jumping up and cheering for himself. Ziggs threw his arms down.

 

“NO!” Ziggs exclaimed as well, turning around and slightly laughing to himself, ignoring the elated Tristana spinning behind him.

 

“I had a feeling that it was going to be Tristana.” Teemo said, smiling at Tristana. She smiled back.

 

“Dang! We were at that for so long!” Ziggs said, turning around to look at the three. He gave his friends a bright, wide smile, revealing practically his entire jawline and all his teeth. A weird trait he had, but adorable.

 

“I know right!” Tristana said, stepping to Ziggs’s side. “That was like a full two minutes we were at it. I didn’t even know I could hold my eyes open for that long!”

 

“It seemed intense.” Rumble pointed out.

 

“Yup, but in the end,” Tristana said, punching Ziggs playfully in the shoulder. “Girls always win.”

 

“Pfft. Ok.” Ziggs said, making Tristana laugh at his reaction.

 

“It’s true!” Tristana claimed.

 

“Is not! You only got me that time because Rumble waved his hand in front of me. It threw me off guard!” Ziggs defended. Rumble threw his arms up.

 

“Hey!” Rumble yelled.

 

“Don’t blame Rumble! Face it, you lost fair and square!” Tristana said, marching in front of Ziggs. Ziggs stayed straight for a while until he eventually fell at the unyielding gaze of Tristana.

 

“Fine, but just this once!” Ziggs said, holding up his finger. Tristana laughed again before turning around and beginning to walk. They all followed, walking side by side through the forest.

 

“So who won this time Teemo?” Tristana asked.

 

“Rumble. He saw right through my ruse this time.” Teemo answered.

 

“And now we’re tied.” Rumble said. “He’s won three, I’ve won three.”

 

“An even matchup. You two really are survival of the fittest, aren’t you?” Ziggs said.

 

“I guess. Either way, it’s a lot of fun.” Teemo said, making everyone smile. Everyone always smiles at Teemo, there’s no reason not to.

 

“So what did you two do while me and Teemo were out and about?” Rumble asked.

 

“Ziggs’s taught me how to light something on fire using a magnifying glass.” Tristana said. Rumble’s eyes widened, turning to Tristana startled.

 

“Oh, that’s dangerous ya’ know.” Rumble said.

 

“I know, but Ziggs said I can light a fuse that way too.” Tristana said, turning to Ziggs and giving him a light smile. He smiled back.

 

“Yeah, just in case you don’t have a lighter and you have a spare bomb laying around…” Ziggs said, trailing off towards the end but laughing.

 

“What’s with you and bombs?” Teemo asked playfully.

 

“I like things that go BOOM!” Ziggs explained, giving a maniacal laugh while expressing something going ‘boom’.

 

“I like things that go BOOM too!” Tristana said, giving a lighter gesture than Ziggs.

 

“We’re alike in that sense. We just love things that go…”

 

“... BOOM!” They both said at once, gesturing a giant exploding and laughing while doing it. Rumble and Teemo both laughed as well but more hesitantly. Oh dear, two of their best friends bound to be some sort of pyromaniac… the thought frightened them. Suddenly Tristana had a thought, so she jumped ahead of all of them, letting them gain focus of her.

 

“Ok, I know what we’re going to do today.” Tristana started. “When we get back, first we’re going to have lunch at Stella’s. Man I love that place but I’m not buying!”

 

“I will.” Ziggs said.

 

“Good. Then we go help Rumble with his mech for about an hour. I will stand bodyguard so no jerkface adults wander in wondering what we’re doing. If they did, photographers would be everywhere. After that we go slingshot bombs out into the ocean for a while.”

 

“Aww, but that’s a waste of bombs!” Ziggs complained.

 

“Oh shush, you know it’s fun.” Tristana quieted him down. “And then at the end of the day we go and spend the night at Teemo’s house.”

 

“But Trist, you know my mom doesn’t like it when you all come over. The house gets too crowded.” Teemo pointed out.

 

“Aww, but your house is so nice and cozy and warm and stuff.” Tristana said, slumping her shoulders down in disappointment.

 

“Lemme ask when we get back. I’ll try to talk her into it.” Teemo said, making Tristana lighten up again.

 

“Yay, thanks Teemo. If not, we’ll spend the night at my house, my parents don’t mind.” Tristana said. She took a while before saying the next part. “And maybe later at night we can go star-watching.” She said unsure, but everyone else seemed to accept it.

 

“I’m fine with that.” Teemo said joyfully. “Star-watching is fun! It’s all whimsical and mystical and wondrous and stuff.”

 

“Great. So, we have a plan then?” Tristana said. Everyone nodded. She jumped up and clapped her hands, excited about the rest of the day. The air went silent for a moment before Ziggs came up close to Rumble.

 

“So Rumble ol’ buddy ol’ pal. What’cha gonna hook up on your mech next? A stereo system? Strobe lights? Maybe even a lil’ bomb or two?” Ziggs said humorously and sarcastically, making Teemo and Tristana hold in their laughter. Rumble turned to him and sighed.

 

“Ziggs, you know most well I’m not going to be putting something that could blow everything up on my machine.” Rumble said.

 

“I know, but you gotta do it sometime Rumble. Just for me please?” Ziggs asked in a way that was hard to say no to. Rumble looked at him doubtfully for a second. He sighed.

 

“Fine, I will.” Rumble gave in to the stare of the maniac he knew as his friend.

 

“Promise?” Ziggs asked, holding out his hand. Rumble sighed yet again.

 

“I promise.” Rumble said, shaking Ziggs’s hand. Ziggs gave another wide smile as they continued walking.

 

“How much longer until we get back?” Teemo asked, looking up at the sun, but not finding much other than the thick canopy above them, shielding out most of the sunlight from entering.

 

“Not much longer.” Tristana said, looking at Teemo. “Why? Are those tiny legs of yours getting tired already?”

 

“What!? No!” Teemo declared, making Tristana giggle. “Plus our legs are the same size, so you can’t say anything!”

 

“Of course they are silly! We’re both the same age. I was only poking a little fun at you.” Tristana said, making Teemo feel better about himself. She turned herself to Ziggs and Rumble. “And these guys over here just happen to be older than us.” Tristana said, sticking her tongue out at them. Rumble and Ziggs looked over confused.

 

“What did we do!?” Rumble asked, raising his hands up in sarcastic defense at whatever Tristana was throwing at him.

 

“Be older, that’s what you did!” Tristana said.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ziggs inquired.

 

“It makes you… I dunno… feel superior.” Tristana said, unsure about what she was saying herself. Rumble looked at her worried. Tristana, such an innocent young girl. Always tough, always ambitious, always adventurous, but sometimes could catch Rumble off guard by what she understands and what she doesn’t. Rumble has always felt towards her and has vowed to himself multiple times already to never let anything hurt her. He felt like he needed to take action. He came up close to Tristana and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. Tristana latched onto Rumble’s arm a bit as she looked up upon him and he looked down upon her.

 

“Trist, age has nothing to do with how I feel towards you or Teemo.” Rumble said caringly. “I don’t care if you’re younger than me, it still doesn’t mean that you’re not one of my best friends.”

 

“Do you really mean that Rumble?” Tristana asked innocently. Rumble gave her a heart warming smile.

 

“Yes, I do Tristana.” Rumble said. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. “And to prove it…” He said. Without much warning and still holding Tristana close to him, Rumble whipped his hand to the side of his belt and pulling out the camera hooked on it. Flipping it over in his hand he gained a firm grip on it, quickly pointing it over at him, Tristana, and Teemo and Ziggs in the background as he took a flash photo, leaving Tristana dazed afterwards. The picture slid out of a slot in the back of the camera, Rumble grabbing it as he went to put the camera away. He held up the picture in front of him, enjoying the view of his friends.

 

“What was that?” Tristana asked, a little dizzy still.

 

“I took a picture with all of my best friends in it.” He said, holding it up so everyone could see it. Ziggs recoiled a bit at seeing what his face looked like on picture. Rumble then pulled it to his chest. “And with it I will make sure to keep it by my heart forever.” Rumble said.

 

“Man you made that sound cheesy.” Ziggs inputted, adding some comical essence to a serious conversation that lightened the mood. Rumble laughed a bit.

 

“I’m pretty good at that, aren’t I?” Rumble asked sheepishly.

 

“You’re the king of that.” Teemo said, making everyone laugh. Tristana released her grip from Rumble and so did he.

 

“Oh, I know something that can make this walk faster!” Tristana yelled hyped.

 

“What is it?” Rumble asked. Before he heard anything come out of her mouth, she slapped Rumble on the shoulder, immediately bolting forwards afterwards, running far ahead of all of them.

 

“Tag, you’re it!” Tristana yelled. The game has just begun. A playful smile quickly wiped on Rumble’s face. With quick thinking Rumble turned to his side and tagged Teemo before running out in front of him.

 

“Nope! Teemo’s it!” Rumble yelled.

 

“Hey I’m not it!” Teemo yelled. Just as he said that he turned and tagged Ziggs on the shoulder, running away frantically. “Ziggs is!”

 

“Oh don’t you run from me!” Ziggs growled loudly as he gave pursuit. With that they all ran deeper and deeper into the forest on their way to society, to home.

 

“Tag, you’re it!”

 

“Nah! You didn’t touch me!”

 

“I got your shirt! It counts!”

 

“Nope. You’re it now!”

 

“Hey!”

 

“No backs!”

 

* * *

 

_Night_

 

The stars filled the night sky, every single one of them lighting up the black void above them and representing a single dream waiting to come true. Their elegance made the world a brighter place even in its darkest moments, including the black that naturally came around to mark when it was time for all to slumber. The moon, another source of light and an entity came to represent much among people, also hung in the sky illuminating the world with a faint white light. This light shine down upon every inch of Valoran, including the field that they were laying in. Not far off of the borders of Bandle City were Teemo, Tristana, Rumble, and Ziggs, all laying side by side on a bare field filled with nothing but grass, the perfect spot to star-watch. Their eyes gazed up into the field of stars above them, their presence captivating the minds of all of them and making all of them wish upon a star. Just one star that will represent their life as a whole, bringing together a life filled with every emotion in the book: happiness, sadness, loneliness, love. All of them being represented in their life now or in the future already marking their place in history. Rumble’s mind boggled of the future, a thought that many children his age chose to ignore, but has always been an interesting fate for him.

 

“They’re so beautiful out tonight.” Teemo said in awe. Tristana, laying right next to him, rolled her head over to look at him, setting her gaze away from the stars for the first time that night.

 

“I know, no clouds to shield them from us.” Tristana said. “Do you ever wonder what’s up there Teemo?”

 

“In space?” Teemo asked, rolling his head to look at Tristana. She nodded. “No, but I imagine that it would be different.”

 

“How different is the question.” Ziggs included, still staring up at the stars. “I wonder what it would be like to be a star…”

 

“Who knows.” Said Teemo. “It would probably be really bright.” This gave the rest of them a good laugh.

 

“I wonder what a star looks like up close.” Tristana said. “Probably a great big ball of fire.”

 

“Why say that?” Asked Teemo.

 

“Well think about it. If we can see something like a star so clearly from way over here, and he stars are millions of miles away, then they would have to be the size of a planet, if not bigger.” Tristana explained. Teemo contemplated the information in his mind for a second.

 

“Huh, I guess that makes sense.” Teemo said, rolling back around to gaze up at the stars. “Then how would the stories be true?” Teemo asked.

 

“What stories?” Ziggs asked.

 

“You haven’t heard of them?” Teemo asked. Ziggs shook his head. “Every star is supposed to be someones dream.” Teemo said. The others looked back up at the stars if they weren’t already. Rumble, who was silent the whole time, still gazed at the stars quietly.

 

“Are they now?” Tristana asked.

 

“Yup. At least that was a story my mother told me. And if mother tells us anything, it’s that mothers are always right.” Teemo said, making the Tristana laugh a bit.

 

“Well if they are supposed to be a dream,” Tristana said, eyeing the sky. After she shot her arm up and pointed at a star in the sky, the one alone from all the rest. “I choose that one. That one is where my dream will come true.”

 

“Why the one away from every other star?” Ziggs asked. Tristana chuckled lightly but didn’t reveal her reason at first. It took her a moment, slightly hesitant to answer.

 

“Because I think it represents us.” Tristana said. “All of us are different than other yordles we know so… why not pick the outsider star.”

 

“We are different aren’t we. I mean think about it. All four of us are different and unique in our own way, but more so than others.” Teemo said. A smile came upon his face, shooting his arm up and pointing at the same star as well. “If so, then I choose to wish upon the same star as you Tristana!” Teemo said elated. A heart-warming smile came upon Tristana’s face.

 

“It’s true Tristana, we are different in our own ways.” Ziggs confirmed. “I choose that star, too!” Ziggs said, making the smile on Tristana’s face go even wider. At this point, all three rolled their heads to look at Rumble, who hasn’t had any input this entire time.

 

“Rumble, how about you?” Tristana asked. Rumble didn’t respond however, making the smile on Tristana’s face fade a little. The only thing notable about him now was how his chest pumped up and down at the rhythm of his breathing, his hands behind his head arched slightly towards the stars. Rumble was off in his own world of thought, however throughout all the thoughts that he thought about whenever he came out here to star-watch, one question always pondered his mind the most.

 

“Do you ever think about the future?” Rumble asked, talking the first time that night. Tristana sighed.

 

“Rumble, you’re the only person here who thinks about that question.” Tristana said. “I think we’re too young to think about where we’re going to be as adults.”

 

“I know, but if you’re wishing upon a star for a dream that you are hoping to come true, then what is that dream?” Rumble asked. An intelligent question, leaving the others stumped. Rumble rolled his head over to Tristana, who was gazing at him, clearly thinking about what he had just asked. Silence filled the night sky for a couple of moments.

 

“My dream is that in the future I will get to stay by all of your sides.” Ziggs said, rolling his head to Rumble. Rumble looked back at him, noticing the honesty in his eyes. “I hope that in the future that we can all still be together, like a family.” Ziggs ended. Rumble searched his eyes, looking for any sign of anything, maybe a sign of whether that dream will come true.

 

“Ziggs… you stole that from me!” Teemo said playfully like the little adorable Teemo would. Ziggs chuckled a bit. “That was my wish too! I want us to stay together forever, all of us as friends. Nothing can break us up.” Teemo said. Rumble’s body flushed with warmth.

 

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing as well. I don’t want anything to ever happen to our friendship. Never.” Tristana said. Another wave of warmth was sent down his body. He cycled his gaze between all of them, all of them looking at Rumble and giving him promising smiles, Rumble smiled back at all of them. Soon, his eyes eventually went back up towards the stars, particularly the same star that Tristana pointed at.

 

“Then I guess it’s right for us to all wish upon the same star.” Rumble said. All of their smiles immediately became wider than before, all happy about the outcome. Ziggs looked back up.

 

“Well we got to promise to keep it that way then.” Ziggs said. Everyone’s head turned to look at Ziggs. Ziggs sensed this so he began. Looking upon the star, Ziggs slowly raised his arm and raised his pinky finger, pointing it high in the air above them.

 

“‘Till Death Do Us Part.” Ziggs said as a promise, keeping his arm sturdy in the air, never letting it sway. One by one they did they same thing Ziggs did, next being Teemo.

 

“‘Till Death Do Us Part.” Teemo said smiling, holding his pinky finger in the air.

 

“‘Till Death Do Us Part.” Tristana said afterwards, her arm extending proudly towards the star. Rumble was the last to do it.

 

“‘Till Death Do Us Part.” Rumble said quietly, marking this as a lifetime promise.

 

And with that, it will mark a point on history, a lifetime promise being made.

  
“‘Till Death Do Us Part!” All four of them said in unison, the stars twinkling above them taking note of the four friends, whose friendship will never be forgotten in history.


	2. Now

However, fate is not as lenient as some might think.

 

Rumble sat lumped up on his couch in his house, hands trembling and eyes quivering as he reminisced in a photo he was holding up in front of himself. Memories were carved in his mind as if they were only yesterday by looking at it. The outline of him on that very photo reminded him of the entirety of that day, how much it meant to him. Encased with a wooden blue photo frame was the photo he had taken all those years ago. He smiled lightly at it, but couldn’t help his body from shaking at the light that he had been under all those years compared to the dark that became to shroud his mind, a feeling that he couldn’t help. This feeling actually occurred whenever he looked at the picture, and the more and more he looked at it, the stronger the sadness in his body became. He has asked himself more than once why he hasn’t discarded of this very photo that he took with his own camera. The truth was… it was too precious to him.

 

It was a photo of that day, the photo of him with Tristana held close against him, a young Teemo and Ziggs in the background walking with them on their way back home.

 

Home. He has had a few of those, but nothing came more nostalgic to him than the home that he had come to call home when he was a kid. The smell of his mother cooking his favorite meal for him in the oven, the sounds of him and his father laughing at a crazy project idea for him, the feelings of him and his friends playing around whenever they came over just to have a fun time. But now it seems that all these feelings faded away, lost in the dark. The brightness that was his past inevitably morphed into the dark he saw today.

 

Rumble. His life as a whole has taken a toll for the worst, and it was all due to this damn picture. “Why?” He thought to himself over and over in his head. “Why did it have to end up like this?” Rumble looked at the picture with wide eyes, analyzing every bit of detail on it. Ziggs’s wide smile, Teemo’s cuteness, Tristana’s loveliness.  Despite thinking about the differences, he couldn’t help but relive this time in his life in his head. That day, that singular day changed his life forever. It all started with a simple game of hide and seek with his best friend Teemo, then it tensed up as they wished upon a star, all wishing together that they would stay together forever, as family.

 

It seems they’ve wished upon the wrong star.

 

Tears welled in his eyes. He didn’t want to accept how his life fell down the gutter, no way to climb back up… but he had to. He had to accept the reality of now in order to progress in life, no matter how maniacal the system is, no matter how much he doesn’t like it, no matter what they pains he has to endure are. This is where the word ‘perseverance’ formed from. These pains, these endurances, all of the hardships in life, and yet Rumble found it amazing how heroes, even those fake ones in stories he recalled when he was young, persevered knowing that something that they had loved has been foiled in the most severe way. His hand began to shake violently, and so did his whole body, becoming enveloped in emotions that he could not contain. A small whimper came from his mouth which he immediately silenced, knowing that Tristana was in his house a room away in the kitchen prepping herself a glass of water he didn’t want her to hear him like this. Not like this. He could not break down! He shouted to himself in his head. Stop! Eventually his body responded to these calls, slowly settling down from what seemed like a small seizure. Rumble’s eyes have yet to blink, not taking them off of the photo still. Taking his shoulders he brushed off any of the tears he had shed during his moment, leaving the glare of water being on his blue fur from the light above, overhead fan turned on above.

 

But now this was his life. Him, alone, turtled up in his shell of a home, the only ones to keep him company was his great friend Tristana and his best friend Teemo whenever he was around. And Ziggs… oh my… he couldn’t afford to think about Ziggs at this time. His body would literally die of emotional breakdown. The dull green walls that surrounded him reminded him of his old home, except his old home had bright and lively green walls. Why he hasn’t done anything about it he doesn’t know why. Maybe because the comparison of his home and his old home represented his soul, once a bright light now flickering on the verge of going dark. He could hear Tristana from the kitchen over closing the refrigerator.

 

“Hey Rumble, I got myself a glass of water. Do you want one too?” She asked, peeking her head around from the corner, her short white hair, a hairstyle similar to the one she had when she was young, not covering her eyes. Rumble didn’t respond. Tristana could see Rumble’s back arched over the picture. Tristana, seeing the picture from her point of view shivered, recalling the memories for herself. She stood there for a moment, letting the feelings take her over and memories ravage through her head as they did for Rumble. She had not seen that picture since the very day it had been taken, thinking that Rumble abandoned it all those days ago. But no, he kept it, and Tristana felt for him. She sighed, leaving her cup of water on the countertop and walking to sit next to Rumble. She dropped herself close to Rumble, eyes immediately drifting towards the picture. The picture captivated the two of them for what seemed like a century,all the time Rumble did not break down again, probably due to Tristana’s warmth being just next to him.

 

“What went wrong Tristana?” Rumble asked, sadness in his voice, leaning his shoulder against Tristana’s. “What went wrong in life for us to end up here?” He asked again, vacantly staring at the photo still. Tristana turned her face to Rumble, noticing the tears welling in his eyes. She bit the inside of her cheek, teeth grinding against the skin. Without much thought she grabbed Rumble’s arm and pulled herself close to him, leaning her head against Rumble’s shoulder. Rumble didn’t move though, his sight still glued to the photo.

 

“Rumble…” Tristana said solemnly, trailing off when Rumble began to shake again. Noticing this, she gripped Rumble harder and pressed up against him more, letting the warmth of her body take over and calm Rumble. And it did so like a charm. “We have to stop thinking about the past. There’s nothing we can do about it now.” Tristana said, letting all the hope Rumble had about fixing it wash away. Rumble set his sight off of the picture for the first time within the time he had it, his gaze softening when his eyes met hers. However this followed up suit with a wave of tears, tears that he could not hold back, start to wash down his face. His eyes slimmed and mouth grimace as he could not hold it any longer, the feeling of sadness came over him. He let his arms fall and head fall, sobbing right onto Tristana’s shoulder. He held her and she held him tightly, Tristana holding Rumble and trying to comfort him as much as she could, but the warmth could not penetrate the cold his body was feeling right now. Tristana’s shirt shoulder became coated with Rumble’s tears as he continued to cry.

 

“Rumble I - I’m sorry.” Tristana said, her voice quivering now. After another moment Rumble pulled back, wiping the tears away with his hands. His eyes were stained red.

 

“No, no don’t be. You - You’re absolutely right.” Rumble said trembling. His face shook a bit, which Tristana settled quickly by placing her arm around his neck. They continued to look at each other. “We can’t change the past. All we have now is the present and… I have to look forward for the future and…” His voice trailed off, replaced by the so common quivering and stuttering of his voice whenever he cried.

 

“Rumble stop… please.” Tristana pleaded, surprising Rumble. He could see her eyes move, looking into every single space of Rumble’s eyes. Suddenly Rumble felt Tristana’s grip on him tighten, her hands almost clawing through his shirt. The look on Tristana’s eyes became more stern. “Please Rumble. We can’t think about it. Not now…” Her voice was strong. Rumble’s body became still at Tristana’s shown-off strength. Her body showed no fear, a trait that Rumble admired so much about her. Rumble nodded slowly, accepting what she had to say. But as he did that, as quick as a snap of the finger, she broke down. Her face immediately melted down into a stream of tears, eyes clenching together letting the tears roll down her soft blue skin. Her body collapsed onto his, letting herself roll over and get caught in a full body hold by Rumble. Rumble held onto her tightly, now returning the favor by letting her sob into him. This happened both ways as well, as Rumble began to cry yet again at this.

 

“You fucking hypocrite.” Rumble said, making both him and Tristana laugh a little bit at the slightest humor through their tears. They both looked up at each other simultaneously, both of their eyes red. With a forced smile on both of their faces and both with the same intent to calm the other, it soon formed a small giggle between the two. Through the tears at least there was some light, and that light was each other. Leaning forward, the two kissed, both of them pressing into it, the salty taste of fresh tears on both of their lips.Rumble’s fur brushed up against Tristana’s hair slightly, foreheads pressing up against each other bobbing up and down as they were kissing. They could feel each other, their bodies pressed up against each other, their emotions pouring into each other, feeling each others pain. It was all they wanted now. After a while they both pulled back, more of a smile now on their faces than before, but eyes still filled with tears.

 

“I love you Tristana.” Rumble said honestly through his tears. Tristana sniffled.

 

“I love you too Rumble.” Tristana said, voice shaking still. She grabbed Rumble’s hand with a tight grip. “But s-seriously Rumble. W-We can’t think about it… Not now. It will keep ending up like this.” Tristana said, bloodshot eyes looking into each other. Rumble nodded and they both looked down, looking at Tristana’s hand holding Rumble’s. Rumble rotated his hand enough so that he was now also grasping her hand, both of them now holding hands. Tristana made a small “tsk” sound shaking her head.

 

“I don’t know Rumble… I don’t know what went wrong. I-It just suddenly… fell apart I guess…” Her voice wavered and hesitated before continuing. “We had… everything… we could’ve wanted. And just like that,” she said, snapping her fingers. “it was gone…. Is this what it’s really like to be grown up?” Tristana asked. Rumble leant forward, pressing his forehead against hers. She could feel her start to cry again.

 

“If it is I wish I never grew up.” Rumble said.

 

“Y-Yeah. M-Me too.” Tristana said. She rubbed her eyes, stopping the incoming tears. “After then… where did we all go!?” Tristana screamed out. Rumble didn’t say anything as she had her outburst. “It all happened after… after Teemo volunteered for the army! We were all so proud of him. But then afterwards we saw him less and less as time went on, and from then it wasn’t the same! And then Ziggs -”

 

“Don’t bring up Ziggs.” Rumble intervened, she ignored him.

 

“- Ziggs was just gone! He… he… FUCK! He left for the institute in Piltover… and we haven’t seen him for ten years since then.” Tristana finished her rant. She looked into Rumble’s eyes. “Why Rumble? I thought we all had a promise.” Tristana said sadly. Rumble’s heart sank at her voice. It pained him to see her like this and realized that he was the one that caused this side of her.

 

“Tristana I… I…” He swallowed. “We need to… lets go for a walk.” Rumble suggested, trying to get their minds off of it. Tristana nodded.

 

“O-Ok.” Tristana agreed. They both got up and started to prepare. Rumble quickly walked over towards the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He turned on the sink and cupped his hands together, filling his hands up with water and splashing it on his face. After doing this a couple of times he lifted his head up and looked into the mirror. The only thing he could see on the other side was a poor soul whose life was stripped away from him. He stared at himself for a second, contemplating if this is really what he had come to. The images flickered through his head. The person in front of him seemed to switch rapidly from him now and him in the past. He could see his younger self, an adorable and happy person from long ago, then the image switched back to him now, an older, grown up version of himself. The main difference was that there was only a smile on one of their faces. He slammed his fist onto the sink quickly before walking out of the bathroom, the door creaking to a close behind him. He made two sharp turns before coming face to face with Tristana, standing by the door letting the light seeping through the door on to her face, her face shadowed by the light like the angel that she was. From it, Rumble saw that she had another forced smile on her face and he tried his best to put one on as well. He walked towards her and the light cleared from her face, noticing that she attempted to wash her face off with water as well. She offered her hand and he gladly accepted.

 

“Where are we going to go?” Tristana asked lightly. He looked in to her beautiful turquoise eyes.

 

“Somewhere… Somewhere where we can relieve ourselves.” Rumble said, giving a small nod and so did Tristana. Rumble grabbed Tristana and pulled her in for another kiss, this time a lot quicker but they still both felt each other and loved that split second. Turning, they opened the door.

 

The bright sunlight made both of them squint as they stepped out of their house. It was a sunny and joyful day out, people casually walking down the road going about their everyday lives. While Rumble and Tristana would fit in as a normal couple, but truth be told they would stride with a dark raincloud above both of their heads. The sky was clear of any clouds, the blue revealing itself with the exception of that one blind spot which was held by the sun. Rumble and Tristana both reached over grabbing each others hand. Both of them moved slowly as they walked into the middle of the dirt street. Both of them looked around aimlessly, wondering who was going to lead. It didn’t take long before Rumble took a step, leading them down the road, grasping tightly onto Tristana’s hand, slightly hurting it a bit. She winced as the squeezing got out of hand. Rumble noticing loosened his grip.

 

“I’m sorry.” Rumble said, pulling her close. She just smiled as a response. He looked at her. “I just… I don’t want anything to happen to you. Anyone but you.”

 

“Rumble…” She said but her voice trailed off, drowned out by her increased worry for him. “So… have you figured out where we’re exactly going yet?” She asked. Rumble took a deep breath.

 

“When I say relieve… I - I… you know. We’re going to go see Teemo.” Rumble said. Tristana stayed silent. It was fine for her to go see Teemo, but now when Rumble was like this?

 

“Oh…” Tristana said.

 

“I’m sorry again Trist. I… uh… I need to see him. I need to see my best friend.” Rumble said quietly. Tristana looked at him worried. His eyes shook looking into hers, but no tears pooled. He sighed, giving a small nod.

 

“It’s ok Rumble.” Tristana said, grasping Rumble’s hand tightly. “I want to see him too… I think it’s best for us to if hes not drowned in his work.” Tristana confirmed. A small smile swept onto Rumble’s face, making Tristana smile as well. Turning back forward, they walked down the street together hand in hand.

 

The dirt road lay bare of anything on it except streetlights scattering the area for night time and groups of children running past them that couldn’t help Rumble remind what him, Tristana, Teemo, and Ziggs were like as children, ambitious and wild where they were free to do whatever they want. He has to have walked or ran up and down this street about a million times, and the one thing that he has been thankful of was that this street hasn’t changed at all the years he has been living here, actually only a few blocks away from his house as a child where his parents now don’t live anymore, instead as of recent they live in a higher place. He had the ability in his mind to replace the children running down the street with him and his friends when they were younger but was afraid that the outcome would be him melting on the ground in tears, so this only resulted in awkward staring whenever one of them ran by. The farther and farther down the road they went the more both of them became aware of how many times they spent there. With memories still being present in their mind, their eyes were drawn to many of the buildings on the side of the road. Morga’s Cafe and Stanley’s Bakery were their go to places to eat out for lunch when they were young, and passing it by they remembered the scent of their favorite meals being cooked from inside, so strong that you can smell it from outside. But now the restaurants are just meaningless signs over a room, both of them being run out of business and starved of customers day by day by the more modern competitors. The one place that they past that was still running strong was Gragas’s Bar which, when they were young, Rumble and Teemo would try and sneak in from time to time to get a taste of what was in there, and now Rumble would go out to it alone as a relieve from life, washing away a days time in one sip of alcohol.

 

They rounded the corner, now not so easily recognizing the area in front of them. The only thing different about this area from the last was that there was a large, grassy field that led out to a nearby forest on the left-hand side instead of buildings all around them. This time there were only buildings on the right which happened to be the foreign part to them. Once, before the buildings were implemented, the area was an extension of the grassy field, leading into one of the smallest parks in all of Bandle City, perfect for four best friends. And now it was gone, replaced by law and tax reform buildings, another obstacle that Rumble had to now overcome, and various military buildings. The only reason that military occupied multiple rooms on the building was because of a small army kiosk being located right next to it, the one that Captain Teemo happened to be stationed at right now.

 

Walking down the street Rumble and Tristana’s eyes caught sight of the small military building, being segregated off from the others with a wire fence surrounding it. Looking through the fence they could see military officers and soldiers going about their normal routines. Teemo, a captain in the Bandle City army, was likely to be out and about. Rumble’s and Tristana’s eyes searched the inside of the area. As they rounded the front gate, they caught sight of their goal.

 

Right through the gate was the brown-furred warrior that they both knew and loved. With his back turned to him they could still see his entire attire which was extremely similar to his look when he was younger. He wore no shirt, letting his brown fur flow in the breeze, brown shorts to compliment the title of a scout, and still his signature green cap with red goggles, blowdart holstered on his side. His hands were behind his back looking at the squadron in front of him which, oddly but a pretty popular trait of the Bandle army, were small children, ranging from ten to fourteen years old. It was a popular program in Bandle City for children aspiring to be in the army when they are older to start them with preliminary training when they are young before they hit eighteen. Once they hit eighteen, the real training begins. It seems that good guy Teemo happened to be teaching the scout portion of the program this year.

 

“Hut! Two, three, four!” They heard Teemo say in his now older but still adorable voice. The young soldiers in front of him repeated him, marching along in a straight line in front of him. Teemo looked down observing them as Tristana and Rumble watched from the side, not attempting to call out to Teemo as he worked. This was his life now. A life in the military wasn’t so bad, it just took away from everything Rumble loved.

 

“Alright, stop!” Teemo called out, raising a hand. The children stopped what they were doing and looked at Teemo. “Huddle around children! Story time!” Teemo said. The children cheered, some of them jumping up, rushing towards Teemo. “Woah, woah! Slow down, hehe. You might hurt yourself.” Teemo said, laughing at the oncoming children. Turning around Teemo sat down, the others sitting in a circle around him going silent. Reaching into his satchel he pulled out a small book. Flipping through the pages he stopped mid-way through the book.

 

“So, you think you can be a scout?” Teemo asked, looking up at their smiles but no one responded. “Well? Do you!?” “Yeah!” The children shouted, enthusiasm pouring from their voices making Rumble and Tristana smile from the side. “Heh… well good! You should be! All of you have the ability to become great scouts when you grow older.” Teemo said to all of them, looking between their elated faces. It was always a fun course for the children.

 

“Today I will be teaching you about the Scouts Code!” Teemo said, raising his finger. “The tenets of the Scouts Code are as follows…” Teemo said, preparing to read them off. However he stopped in his tracks when he raised his eyes up for a short moment, noticing Rumble and Tristana watching in the background. Once he saw this his eyes stayed on them. The couple, noticing this, tensed as his gaze fell upon them. He stayed like that for a long while, some of the children looking back to look at what their captain was looking at. Rumble gave a small smile and a shy wave, followed by Tristana waving her hand in the air wide enough to be considered waving him over.

 

“Captain Teemo sir?” One of the children said, snapping Teemo out of his trance. He shook his head.

 

“Right, yeah… umm…” Teemo said. phased by their presence. He looked across the field, noticing another yordle in an army uniform walking by. “Lieutenant Jennings!” Teemo called over, the yordle turning around to look at him. “Come sub for me! I have a personal matter to attend to!”  He said. The yordle nodded, walking over to Teemo and replacing his spot, taking the book with the Scouts Code in it. Some of the children complained as their favorite captain walked away, but Teemo could not let this moment slip by him.  

 

Rumble and Tristana put on a smile as Teemo walked down a small grassy slope to get to them, causing him to practically run to the wire fence that separated them. Whipping out a set of keys from his pocket, Teemo quickly unlocked the front gate and pulled it open. He seemed a little dumbfounded when he came face to face with them.

 

“H-Hey Teemo.” Rumble said. However he didn’t get much time to say much else before Teemo rammed himself into Rumble, holding himself by wrapping his arms around Rumble, hugging him. Rumble hugged back, looking at Tristana over his shoulder. They both had a shocked expression on their face.

 

“God… dammit!” Teemo said, struggling to get the words out. He pulled back, looking at Rumble in the eyes. Teemo’s wide, blue eyes searched him. “Rumble…” He said quietly. Rumble didn’t reply, only stared into Teemo’s eyes. After a while he switched his focus to Tristana, giving her a hug as well.

 

“Hi Teemo…” Tristana said., patting Teemo on the back. Teemo retracted, looking between both of them. He looked speechless. Then suddenly a wide smile crossed his face.

 

“This… This is great!” Teemo said elated. “I-I’ve been meaning to come visit you two for a while now and… well it’s just… I-I haven’t been around to get to it. Just like… haha!” He said, stuttering over his words but excited about seeing both of them. All three laughed.

 

“Nice to see you too, Teemo.” Rumble said.

 

“Of course! I just didn’t expect you and I got so bewildered when I saw you two, I was just like wow haha!” Teemo said.

 

“Woah now, don’t get too excited!” Said Tristana, making them laugh again.

 

“Well now it’s kind of hard not to when your best friends come waltzing out of nowhere. Rumble, you’re looking great and Tristana, you’re looking as stellar as ever!” Teemo complimented. Rumble and Tristana both gave a sarcastic laugh, both knowing that they weren’t feeling great and stellar on the inside. “So anyways, what brings you two here?” Teemo asked. Rumble and Tristana looked at each other, not really knowing the answers themselves.

 

“Well to be completely honest we… uh… we weren’t having the best of times today.” Rumble replied, looking at Tristana. Her look questioned his response, and so did Teemo’s.

 

“Really now?” Teemo asked. They both nodded. “Well, we can’t have that happening now can we? Come, we can sit on it.” Teemo said, immediately taking off down the street, Rumble and Tristana following behind him.

 

“Where?” Rumble asked.

 

“I don’t know. I was thinking Stellas. Is that fine?” Teemo asked, turning around to look at them walking backwards. Oh no, Stellas. The memories that lied there…

 

“Stellas is fine.” Rumble said holding back how much he didn’t want to go to Stellas.

 

“Great!” Teemo said, turning back around and walking forward. It was amazing, Rumble and Tristana both thought, how Teemo was always so cheery, then and now. The way he always had a smile on his face always brought one upon others even in the most depressing moods. In fact, Rumble couldn’t remember the last time Teemo wasn’t happy with the way things were.

 

He was so similar now then he was all those years ago. The playful, happy, and strong guy that he considered his best friend. Teemo, now a captain in the Bandle army, has grown so much in every way, shape and form. The only thing that didn’t change about him was that he still had his cute and adorable voice that made him irresistible. The way he scouts ahead, the way he fights… all these attributes about him really reflect on what he did when he was young. Always the stealth master. He remembered the times him and Teemo used to play hide and seek out in the jungle of Kumungu. Teemo was always the best at hiding and eventually became the best at seeking. He knew the jungle so well it was outstanding. His abilities were limitless in every way, even in keeping a promise… Teemo. He tried his best to keep that promise. He always remembered it, and the day that he devoted his life to the military he broke down in tears. It was his destiny, he had to follow it. Rumble and Tristana said that they were proud of him. Inside their souls broke, leaving the pain of someone leaving them to flow throughout forever. But… he didn’t leave forever. He kept his promise in that way. He was a captain in the Bandle City army, meaning that he was stationed here directly in Bandle City, once again meaning that he or they could visit each other whenever they wanted. The problem was Teemo, the honoring son-of-a-gun that he is, never left one bit of work undone. It made him perfect, but also limited him to what was important to keep in life, his friends.

 

Back at home Rumble and Tristana were mortified to see him leave. This was the first time Rumble has actually seen Tristana break down, seeing her second best friend leave right before her eyes. However, this was the day Rumble devoted his life to her. To never leave. That was his promise and, no matter what happens in life, he would never break that promise for her. Rumble loved her with all the passion in his heart. If anything ever happened to her… he would be dead. Now they eat together, live together, sleep together, fight together. And held on tight together as they endeavored through tough times. Like now, but this time they needed someone else to clutch onto, someone else to pull them back out of the ground. They went to Teemo.

 

Stellas was coming into view while these thoughts roamed in Rumble and Tristana’s heads. Stellas. They didn’t really know how to describe it despite the amount of times they’ve been to it. A diner combined with a cafe was the simplest way to put it. All you do is go in, pick a seat, and go up to the counter whenever you want something to eat. Overall a very comforting place to relax, and one of the only places that they would actually consider going to that is still running a good business from their childhood. It was their go-to place as children because of this. A table for four was all they needed to discuss the day, recent events, and other things happening. Him, Tristana, Teemo and... Ziggs...

 

Teemo opened the door for Rumble and Tristana as he let them walk in, Rumble being encased by the recognizable feeling of warmth and comfort from within it. Despite his house now, this was the second place that felt most like home. The chocolate brown walls making them look like milk chocolate bars that he could imagine himself taking a bit out of. White tiling crossed under the wooden tables and chairs that were spread evenly across the area, leading to the main counter area, where all of the workers were working besides the ones serving food to guests. Some customers and workers smiled at them, recognizing them, as they walked in. Teemo did his best to reply back but for the most part ignored them as he walked straight towards the table that they would always sit at as children. The far back table. The table odd-one out from all of the rest but is the perfect place to have private conversations. Teemo pulled a chair out for both of them on one side of the table like a true gentleman, both sitting as Teemo pulled out his chair on the other side. He sat down, crossing his hands and placing them onto the table, looking at them.

 

“So… once again it’s great to see you again Teemo!” Tristana started. “It’s been… what a month or two?”

 

“Somewhere around there.” Teemo answered. “So what have you two been doing lately? Some entertaining movies been coming out lately, but so have trips for romantic getaways.” He leant over towards Rumble. “Been planning a baby yet?” Teemo asked laughing. Rumble playfully pushed him away.

 

“Very funny!” Rumble exclaimed. “Anyways we haven’t been really doing much lately. Just uh… just hanging out.” Rumble said looking at Tristana for guidance, however it didn’t seem like she had much to offer. He looked back at Teemo. “What about you? It seems you’ve taken a liking to children lately.”

 

“I’ll admit, they can be cute and sorta… you know… remind me of back then.” Teemo said. “But besides it I didn’t volunteer. It was a draft pick and blah, blah, blah. I’m not going to get into it but they picked me to be the scout master. Not half bad and, in fact, makes it so I have less work than normal. Today I’m actually able to go back home and get some sleep in the first time in forever.”

 

“Sounds like a relief.” Said Tristana.

 

“Yeah. Too bad it only lasts a month. Afterwards back to the same stuff as normal.” Teemo said, slouching a bit in disappointment. “I have so much work it’s unbelievable. My eyes will be drowned in paper until I can’t read anymore.”

 

“Hopefully you won’t need glasses. People would never look at you the same again.” Said Rumble chuckling.

 

“You should see peoples reaction whenever I decide to where these damn goggles. It’s like they don’t even recognize me.” Teemo said, pulling at the red goggles on top of his head. “Now I wear them like it’s some sort of icon. A trademark specifically for me is an interesting way to think about it.”

 

“Don’t worry, you can come over by our place sometime and stay the night. We wouldn’t mind.” Rumble said.

 

“But… you guys only have one bed.” Teemo pointed out.

 

“There’s a couch.” Rumble said. Teemo sighed.

 

“Of course, it’s always a couch. Always the freakin couch.” Teemo complained. Rumble held his hands up.

 

“Hey, if you want me to sleep on the couch I can. Me and Trist can, you can sleep on the bed if you want.” Rumble suggested. However Teemo had a counter-argument.

 

“Or… maybe I can have a shot of -” Teemo was saying but was interrupted.

 

“Yeah! Keep dreaming hotshot!” Rumble said, making Teemo burst out into laughing which made Rumble laugh some as well. Tristana looked between both of them confused. They both laughed when they saw her expression, though it’s probably best if she didn’t know what Teemo was talking about…

 

“Yeah… um… hehe.” Tristana said awkwardly. She tried to change the subject. “So Teemo, can I ask you something?”

 

“Sure, go ahead.” Teemo replied. Tristana looked nervously at Rumble who was also wondering what she was going to ask. She swallowed and looked back at Teemo.

 

“Um… Rumble and I were going to ask if you would like to be apart of a gift… a gift that we were planning for Ziggs.” Tristana said hesitantly and she was right to do so. Teemo’s expression went blank at his name and Rumble sighed.

 

“No, don’t bring him up.” Rumble muttered quietly. Nobody heard him.

 

“Oh…” Teemo said, also affected by Tristana bringing him up. He started fidgeting with his hands. “Uh… Yeah… yeah I can contribute to it. What do you plan on getting him?” Teemo asked.

 

“Well Rumble and I were thinking something small… just to, you know… remind him that we’re still here.” Tristana answered. A moment of silence fell before Teemo replied again.

 

“Ok… yeah we can arrange something like that for him.” He said, sliding his hands off the table and crossing them in front of him. Tristana looked at him worryingly.

 

“I’m sorry Teemo. I’m sorry for bringing him up… it’s just we were both thinking about him lately and… well… yeah.” Tristana apologized. Teemo held up one hand.

 

“No, no. It’s fine! It’s just…” Teemo said but trailed off again. Suddenly he chuckled a bit. “It’s kind of funny actually because I’ve been thinking about him recently too.” He claimed. “It’s just… when I think about him -”

 

“Captain Teemo!” A voice interrupted him mid-sentence. All three looked over to see a young yordle, dressed in a scouts uniform, walking over towards him. Teemo smiled at him.

 

“Jones!” Teemo called out, waving to him. He leant over towards Rumble and Tristana. “The colonel’s son.” He said. Both of them nodded as he approached. He shook hands with his captain. “Watcha want young man?” Teemo asked.

 

“Well my dad sent me with a note to you.” He said, handing the note over to Teemo. He didn’t give Teemo much time to look over it before he spoke again. “He said that you should take the rest of the day off.”

 

“Really… why would that be?” Teemo said, flipping the note over but finding nothing on the back side.

 

“He said that you’ve been looking down lately. That you’ve been looking depressed or something.” Jones said. This hit a bone in Teemo. He looked up at the child with a blank expression, but it was obvious that he was holding something back. Rumble and Tristana could observe this. They looked at each other with a questioning expression on both of their faces. Then he elaborated further.

 

“He said that he’s seen you at your desk looking down at a photo… but you would look at the photo for a long time straight.” He said. Teemo held a hand up to silence him.

 

“Yes I… I think I understand now.” Teemo said. The boy looked nervous. Photo? What photo? Teemo sighed. “Well give your father my best regards… I will be there tomorrow.” Teemo said.

 

“Yes sir Captain Teemo!” Jones said, giving his captain a solute before walking off and out the door. Teemo’s body remained turned towards where Jones once stood, contemplating what he just said while Rumble and Tristana sat on the sidelines, wondering for themselves what they meant. Finally Teemo turned around and looked at them, not saying anything.

 

“What does that mean?” Tristana asked slowly. Teemo bit his lips seemingly unsure of himself to tell them. But eventually he gave in. He unlatched a small satchel he had buckled onto his waist. He put it up onto the table and started rummaging through it.

 

“Like I was saying… when I think of Ziggs I don’t just think about him.” He said, finding what he wanted inside the satchel and placed it on the table. When he removed his hand to reveal it, Rumble and Tristana gasped.

 

It was that same photo from long ago, the same one Rumble had.

 

“I think about then.” Teemo said ominously. Rumble had completely forgotten that he had given Teemo a copy of the photo all those years ago. It was just… he didn’t expect him to hold it so close like Rumble did. Teemo looked between the couple sitting in front of him, noticing their shocked expressions. He sighed.

 

“I think about then.” He repeated. “And when I do it… brings back these memories of then. It’s hard not to think of the past when nostalgia influences you to reminisce in such a way. I don’t know if it’s normal -” Rumble snickered, interrupting Teemo. Teemo shot a glare at him and Rumble stared at him right back.

 

“Of course it’s normal.” Rumble said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his version of the photo, slamming it onto the table right next to Teemo’s. Teemo shared the same shocked expression as they did. Throughout this entire event Tristana was only a spectator watching from the side, eyes watering as she observed.

 

“It’s always normal to feel. Whenever, wherever, it’s natural.” Rumble started. He pointed at the pictures. “See these? They’re remnants of history, artifacts! Precious objects that we keep close to us every day. Do you know why?” Rumble asked, raising his voice a bit. Teemo shook his head. “It’s because they remind us of what we love.” He emphasized. Teemo looked at him, his eyes going sturdy.

 

“Is it normal -”

 

“Yes!”

 

“- to focus more on the past than the present?” Teemo questioned, making Rumble go silent. Teemo set his hand on the table. “We have a life to live Rumble. I do, you do, Tristana does.”

 

“Leave me out of this please.” Tristana pleaded, not wanting to be part of this discussion. Teemo nodded.

 

“If we do not set ourselves straight now than we will never predict the outcome of the future!” Teemo said.

 

“That’s what I said back then, but no one but me would think about it would they?” Teemo challenged. Both of their bodies went stiff, straightening up a bit. Tristana tucked herself away from them, becoming ever less present to both of them. “I was the only one to even consider the future back then, and now you’re telling me to think about it now at this stage in our life!”

 

“Well you obviously are!” Teemo said, raising his voice now. “What will the results be of you sending a gift to Ziggs? By now he’s probably forgotten about you, all of us, and you’re reaching out to him to bring him back to us!”

 

“He has not forgotten about us!” Rumble said menacingly.

 

“And what makes you think that?” Teemo inquired.

 

“Because we made a promise, all that time ago! We wished upon a star!”

 

“And look where we are now!!” Teemo yelled out, gaining attention from others within Stellas. Rumble looked around. People were now staring at them, some completely distracted from everything else. “Is this what you wished for all those years ago? This!”

 

“I did not want this!” Rumble said.

 

“Oh yeah?” Teemo said, leaning back a bit. “Well the star you wished upon led into this. Things will never be the same.”

 

“Things were never the same.” Rumble corrected.

 

“Since Ziggs left right?” Teemo asked.

 

“Ziggs is living his life Teemo! There is no way we can change it now.” Rumble tried to end.

 

“I thought Ziggs was supposed to be here with us forever.” Teemo persisted, clearly aggravated about previously. Rumble’s ear twitched, annoyed now. Tristana noticed.

 

“Boys…” Tristana whimpered from the side.

 

“He is.” Rumble said with a different tone of voice. Deeper.

 

“Where?” Teemo asked.

 

“He’s in our hearts Teemo. He will always be in our hearts.” Rumble said. Teemo laughed, making Rumble even more annoyed at his attitude.

 

“Stop it with the metaphors Rumble.” Teemo said. “Just face it, he will never come back.”

 

“Ziggs is our friend Teemo! Can’t you see that! You can’t just say stuff like that it’s… it’s just wrong!” Rumble said, raising his voice a bit more and leaning forward.

 

“And what makes you think he will come back? You just said for yourself that he’s living his own life.” Teemo asked.

 

“I… I have no evidence that he will ever come back… all I can do is hope and believe Teemo. I want him to come back. I want to see his face again. I want to see his big smile again, and I want to see how much he’s changed in the years, what Piltover has done for him and what he has learned. But I can only hope it!” Rumble said. Teemo stayed silent for a while before replying.

 

“Well you can hope all you want, I’m sure it will help one way or another.” Teemo said. He looked down at the picture again. “And I’m sure the past will continue to haunt us one way or another…” He now looked back up at Rumble and slimmed his eyes. “We wished upon the outlier star that night… do you think that represents Ziggs?”

 

“He’s not an outcast.” Rumble said.

 

“If you think about it logically he is.” Teemo said. Rumble’s ear twitched again. “He left and we just watched. Actually… we waved him away. We didn’t try to pull him back at all.” Teemo claimed.

 

“We let him pursue his calling. Is there anything wrong with that?” Rumble asked. Teemo shrugged.

 

“And I thought my calling was for us to be together forever. I believed that for the longest time!” Teemo said. Rumble’s ear twitched for the third time. This time he lowered his head, letting the fur fall over his eyes so that Teemo couldn’t see them. He clenched his teeth tight. But Teemo persisted.

 

“There’s a reason why our parents told us not to screw with stuff we don’t know how to use, and back then we screwed with fate. It spiraled life out of control, and now we’re here. Your life is miserable, my life is miserable, all of our lives our miserable. We shouldn’t have wished upon a star that day, and you knew that! You were also the one person that was hesitant on wishing! And now that you did, I say again, look where we -”

 

“LISTEN TO ME! Rumble yelled out so loudly that is seemed to shake the entire building. Teemo immediately recoiled back in his chair and Tristana whimpered even more, scared to see her boyfriend like this. This time the entirety of Stellas looked at them, but Rumble didn’t care. He kicked his chair back and stood up, staring furiously at Teemo who was now frightened. He placed his hands on the table and arced himself, leaning to look at Teemo closer.

 

“We can’t think about the past. It hurts us.” Rumble only said, quiet enough for only them three to hear. He shook when he said it, making the words stick in Teemo’s head even more. After a brief moment, Rumble took a deep breath and sat back down. Nothing more was said for a while after that. Silence filled the air along with the mass amount of tension to accompany it. Once again, both men did not take notice to Tristana who seemed to be scared for her life for both of them.

 

“Well… That’s something I will have to remember…” Teemo ended slowly. He looked at him expecting him to say something but he didn’t. In fact it seemed that he was exhausted. Him and Teemo both had nothing left to say. Unexpectedly Teemo stood up, Rumble looking up at him as he did so. He picked up his version of the photo and put it back in his satchel carefully, making sure not to bend the photo in any way. He stepped back and pushed in his chair, looking at Rumble and Tristana again.

 

“Rumble… Tristana…” Teemo said, tilting his cap at both of them bidding them adieu as he turned around and walked out of the building, leaving Rumble and Tristana at the table speechless. Rumble sighed. Is this what life has really become? The point in his life where he has to argue to his best friend? Why…

 

“Rumble…” A soft voice came from the side. He looked over to see Tristana, huddled up and tears welling. Rumble snapped out of his thoughts, instantly moving to comfort her.

 

“Tristana…” Rumble said suddenly, wrapping his arms around her. So did she, placing her head on his chest. “Tristana everythings going to be alright… I promise.” He said. He held her in his arms letting Tristana cry silently into him. It took a while for Tristana to release it all, but when she did she pulled back, her eyes drained of tears. She nodded at him.

 

“Is it over?” Tristana asked quietly.

 

“Yes, yes it is.” Rumble asked, moving his hands down to grab hers lightly. She sniffled a bit, but they didn’t take their eyes off each other. It fell silent for another moment.

 

“I… If you don’t mind… I-I’m going to sleep at my house tonight.” Tristana said.

 

“Trist…” Rumble said, but all he could do was nod at her request, knowing what she just had to watch. Seeing them argue like that must have been a nightmare to her. But she was strong, Rumble knew that, and he had to believe in her. Tristana nodded as well, leaning in and giving Rumble a quick kiss. She stood up, grabbed herself, and walked out, leaving Rumble all alone…

 

… again.

 

* * *

 

_“Damn it!”_

 

_“Damn it!”_

 

 _“Damn it!”_ All three of them thought as they were walking home. The whole debacle must’ve lasted longer then all three of them thought as they walked back to their respective homes, alone shrouded amongst the crowd they walked through. What a day… starting off with an emotional relapse and breakdown continuing with an argument between two best friends and ending on… this.

 

Their heads hung low, all of them looking at their feet, the only thing to guide them was the sidewalk they were walking on to get back home, all of their houses an equal distance away from Stellas. The sun was lowering now, the shadows they were casting becoming ever less prevalent in the upcoming night, the lights inside houses becoming more as the night occurred. Teemo’s and Tristana’s houses, not too far out on the outskirts of the urban district.

 

The only thought that ran through Teemo’s head was… how could he do such a thing. Both of them were now probably traumatized because of him. That argument… should’ve never happened. Rumble yelled at him and Tristana… he didn’t realize it at the time but she was so scared… it was heartbreaking to see. Both of them… it pained Teemo to think about them like that and for that… he… couldn’t think of himself the same. He shook his head as his house came into sight.

 

And so did Tristana’s house for her.

 

And so did Rumble’s house for him.

 

As they approached their houses, they didn’t know it, but all their houses shared one thing in common. A mailbox. And it just so happened for all of them that the red flag was up signalling for mail.

 

Red. The mail was hidden within the little standing box that they all opened around the same time, grabbing all of the envelopes from within it at the same time. Mail didn’t really mean much to all of them because most of the time they never received anything important in the mail. Rumble opened up his door and opened entered his house, immediately plumping himself onto his couch. Teemo did the exact same thing. Tristana made her way to her bedroom, turning on her light to reveal the light blue walls and small bed. Her house. She came here from time to time, but for the most part she lived with Rumble. It always brought memories back to her though, considering that she has lived in this house since she was little, her parents leaving the house to her after they past away. Teemo had an ordinary living room which was the room seen as soon as you entered the house. Brown walls encased them in, a couch in the middle of the living room. On the side was a small table with a lamp on it. When he sat himself he turned on the light and began scrolling through the mail, and so did all of the others.

 

 _“Stupid, stupid, stupid, stu-”_ They all were thinking… until they sat their eyes onto one piece of mail. A white letter with no wording on front, however its significance came from the stamp. A red, wax stamp kept the envelope shut for all of them, on it… the sign of crossbones.

 

“Oh my…” They all thought. Their eyes shot open in surprise at it. Crossbones. There was only one person they knew that used crossbones.

 

Ziggs.

 

As soon as they realized this they ripped open the envelope, revealing the letter inside of it which all of them picked up and another paper that they set to the side. They all unfolded the envelope, eyes sticking to what they still remember as Ziggs’s handwriting. It took less then a second for the letter to hit them in the heart. The first words:

 

_"Dear my best friends,"_

 

Tristana, completely bewildered at the suddenness of this, was already about to cry. The memory of Ziggs was just too much, and the recency of him lately made it even more impacting. Regaining hold of herself, she continued to read.

 

_"Hey, it’s uh… it’s been a while since I’ve spoken to any of you. Teemo, Tristana, Rumble, you are all receiving this letter, and let me just say… I miss you. Here in Piltover… it’s not the same. I enjoy it and all, it’s a wonderful life here and I’ve made some great friends. But like I said… it’s just not the same. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and my first thought is of you guys instead of anything here, and for me it really shows how much… well… it might sound corny but how much you all meant to me. You all mean the most to me, and nothing can replace the connection I have with you all. If I lose you, I’ll have nothing left. Piltover. I have made some amazing and quirky friends so far. Caitlyn, Vi, Jayce, they are all wonderful people. But still, no matter how awesome they are, I’m still not myself without you guys. I wish you were here with me, but you aren’t so the only thing I can do is wish you a wonderful time back at home! Remember, never forget about then. Then and now are two completely different times… and honestly I prefer then. The great times we used to have together, I remember it all like it was just yesterday. Teemo, Rumble, Tristana, I love you all. Never forget that. And also never forget our promise! We will never go back on then, endure now, and later that star will burst, our dreams will be answered, and I will be able to see you all again…"_

 

And then the last line… again struck a chord in all of them. Tristana broke down crying while Rumble and Teemo were trying their best to hold in the tears. By now they had held up what the other paper was. Except that it wasn’t a paper. It was a photo. A photo of him, standing in front of the gates to Piltover and… doing… what Teemo couldn’t remember for the longest time and Ziggs finally made him, Rumble, and Tristana remember. A tear slipped through Teemo’s eye as him, Rumble, and Tristana replicated the action. Trembling from the tears, they all held their pinky fingers up in front of their faces… just like that night, and repeated the same words they had said… just like that night. And for this they may have just wished upon the right star.

 

“‘Till Death Do Us Part”

 


End file.
